Banned Book of the Month: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Photo from Goodreads.
Emersen Cwiklinski
About the Author: The Perks of Being a Wallflower was written by Stephen Chbosky, is now recognized as one of his best novels, and later as one of his greatest films. Chbosky was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and had a knack for writing and film as a young adult, which is what led him to success. Chbosky began his career with film writing and production and then strayed into writing literature. He wrote The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 1999 and in 2012 helped write and produce the film. Chbosky has also written for well-known films such as Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder. Chbosky continues to work on new films and writing while also advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.
Summary: The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows the life and mind of Charlie, a young boy entering his first year of high school. Charlie recently has gone through intense trauma after his best friend committed suicide, and his aunt died in an accident. Charlie is viewed as a quiet freshman that many students use as an outlet for their own problems. Charlie gets bullied and ignored until he meets Sam and Patrick. Sam and Patrick are stepsiblings who are in their senior year of high school. They take Charlie under their wing and help him ease into the high school experience. They invite him to parties, dinner, and social outings in order for him to meet new people, and Charlie eventually begins to break out of his shell.
Each character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower has their own personal tribulations. Sam struggles with preparing for college and her toxic relationship with her boyfriend. Patrick is closeted and has to hide his relationship with his boyfriend, Brad, who is a member of Sam and Patrick’s friend group. Each character has their own story and internal struggles, but the book focuses on the support system that the friend group is for each other.
Charlie ends up falling in love with Sam, and their bond grows stronger. The movie begins to conclude with the end of the school year and the seniors are preparing to move to college. Charlie has made a drastic change since the beginning of the school year where he was shy and reserved. However, Charlie regresses after an experience with Sam which reminds him of his late aunt. When Charlie was a child, his aunt sexually assaulted him and made Charlie keep it a secret. Charlie ended up forgetting all the violating experiences due to his trauma being suppressed. Now, at 15 years old, Charlie realizes that one of his favorite people took advantage of him. He ends up spiraling and reaching out to family and professionals for help. Charlie must learn to finish high school without his friends, while also managing mental health and his tumultuous past.
Why it’s banned/challenged: The Perks of Being a Wallflower is often banned, or at least challenged, due to the mature topics that it discusses. Some of the topics covered in The Perks of Being a Wallflower that tend to lead to book banning are sexual content and sexual abuse coverage, drug and alcohol use, as well as LGBTQ+ content. These topics are sometimes viewed as “too mature” or “too explicit” to be discussed in literature and allowed in schools, resulting in the challenging of the books that include them. Rather than learning about the struggles related to the topics that The Perks of Being a Wallflower highlight, some communities and schools try to shut down the conversations to learn more.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is locally available to read at Hamilton High School’s Library, Pauline Haass Library, and the Menomonee Falls Public Library.
